When Lives Align
by Shell-Shocked-NinjaTurtleGal
Summary: (Dimension travel fic, takes place after season 2 finale, slightly au!) After being stuck on the Rebel home base for months, Ezra was ready for a change! It wasn't that he minded acting as Kanan's eyes at times, but he was bored. Yet when an electrical storm that isn't what it seems sends the crew to a galaxy that isn't their own...Well, that wasn't the excitement Ezra wanted.
**Hey everyone! So this is the first chapter of a new story! It is similar to "Paradox of The Force", since it includes dimension travel, but there will be some major differences in this one!**

 **WARNING! IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN SEASON TWO OR THE SEASON TWO FINALE, I SUGGEST YOU WAIT UNTIL YOU DO SEE THOSE, UNLESS YOU DO NOT MIND SPOILERS!**

 **Okay, with that spoiler warning out of the way, I can continue! Just because this story is similar to "Paradox of The Force" does not, I repeat, does NOT mean that "Paradox of The Force" is discontinued. It is merely on hiatus until I can regain my muse for it! I am simply considering doing this new story because the idea has been bouncing around in my head since the second season finale! I promise that while this has dimension hopping like my other multichapter SW:R story, it is still very much different!**

 **This chapter is a test chapter. I'm a little uncertain if people would like me to write this or not, so pleaseplease PLEASE leave a review and let me know if you like the story/want me to continue the story/etc.!**

 **Also, sorry in advance that there isn't much witty banter as there usually is with the SW:R characters in this chap XD This chap is more of to set the scene!**

 **Disclaimer's on my prof.!**

 **Enjoy and please review!**

* * *

Ezra sighed as he walked along the edge of the Rebel base's perimeter. Another dull, boring day, he mused.

Yawning, the teen hoisted himself up onto the top of one of the base's walls and sat, his bright blue eyes staring out at the valley that stretched beyond.

The construction of the base had finally finished a month or so back, and where once a rather flimsy excuse of a safe house had been there was now a well-fortified home base for the Rebellion. And it was nice, it wasn't that Ezra didn't like the base or anything, he was just…utterly and horrendously bored.

It had been eight months since the dreadful events on Malachor. The loss of Ahsoka was felt by all, even those who'd hardly known her or only just heard of her, but this mourning had fueled the Rebellion's fire, making everyone all the more determined to seek justice and to overthrow the Empire. After Kanan was blinded, it was decided between the leaders of the Rebellion, along with Hera and Kanan himself, that the Ghost crew would remain on-world and help protect the main base rather than continue to go on missions. It was only going to be for a little while, they'd told Ezra, but it had already been eight long months.

Yet Ezra couldn't find it in himself to be frustrated with his friends and the Rebel leaders. For one thing, Kanan wasn't able to fight and protect himself and the others like he once had. Sure, Kanan was becoming very much adept at using the Force to guide him, but he still was learning, _training_ , to become even better at it. The second reason was because of Ezra himself.

After Malachor, Ezra was ashamed to admit he'd opened the Sith holocron. He'd felt so guilty and believed that he was to blame for Ahsoka's death and Kanan's blindness that he'd felt it only right to try and open the holocron so that they could stop the Empire.

And he'd come so dangerously close to the dark side.

All of the knowledge that poured into him from the holocron had twisted and pulled at his mind, had shown him the addictive rush that came with power…

But Kanan had known that Ezra had the holocron. He'd wisely kept a close eye on Ezra and, when the powerful knowledge of the holocron had nearly consumed his Padawan…The man had smashed the holocron to pieces.

And oh how it had hurt. The knowledge that had flooded Ezra's mind suddenly being ripped away, it was akin to what Ezra thought it might feel like to have one's very being torn in two. And he'd been angry with Kanan. Yes, so very _very_ angry. He'd yelled at Kanan, had _screamed_! Everyone had felt the boy's rage as windows all over the base and _Ghost_ had shattered and lights had exploded. And when Ezra had demanded why, just _why_ Kanan would destroy the artifact that was supposed to hold the secret they needed to defeat the Empire, the object that Ahsoka had died for and Kanan had been blinded for, Kanan had replied so…so _calmly_ , as if it was just another day of training:

" _The holocron wasn't worth Ahsoka's life, and it definitely isn't worth yours."_

Those words had been enough to stop Ezra in his tracks at the time. Even now, Ezra could remember how he'd realized just how close he'd come to turning to the dark side…and when he'd realized that, he'd cried.

He could remember how Kanan held him as he'd sobbed. Usually Ezra would've felt embarrassed for crying, but at that time he'd felt so much shame and guilt…

And Kanan had just held him close, silent and understanding, just like when they'd escaped Malachor.

After that incident with the holocron, Kanan thought it would be wise if they held off on any missions so that he and Ezra both could place their full attention on training. With all of the mission runs they'd been doing, Ezra's training was lacking and his knowledge of the Jedi way poor, making him far more susceptible to the call of the dark side.

So it was decided: The Ghost crew would stay at the base and protect it for the time being. It wasn't what the crew was used to, but in the past eight months they had adjusted. It was dull, but it allowed Kanan and Ezra the time they needed to train.

Now newly sixteen years of age, Ezra had grown a few inches taller. He was still small for his age, as malnourishment for years could do that to a person, but Ezra didn't mind- at least he was as tall as Sabine now and she couldn't call him kid. His hair was a bit longer, but only by a couple of inches, as it still stayed above his shoulders. On his sixteenth birthday, Kanan had shown Ezra how to do a Padawan braid (a now mostly permanent part of Ezra's appearance expect for when he had to get cleaned up in the 'fresher), and now everyone was used to seeing the small braid that rested on the right side of his head.

During the eight months he'd also outgrown his orange coveralls (a rather devastating event for Ezra, as those coveralls had enough pockets for him to carry everything he needed! Kanan had to remind him that he had a perfectly nice room that he could put everything in just as easily). In exchange for the coveralls, Ezra had settled for wearing a pair of dark brown, loose-legged pants, a simple black shirt and a brown space-pilot's jacket (a birthday gift from Sabine, who'd taken artistic license and decorated the back of the jacket with the bird-like Rebel insignia she'd created in burnt orange).

Yet during the passing months, things also remained the same with Ezra in many ways: he still had the roundness of youth to his face shape, the same electric blue eyes and the same tanned skin, the same voice and mischievous nature. Even after all he'd been through, he was still Ezra: the same wise-cracking, street-smart troublemaker he'd always been.

During the months they'd had on-world, Kanan and Ezra had both buckled down on training. Lightsaber practice was admittedly hard (it had taken _months_ for Ezra to reconstruct his saber and Kanan had to learn how to fight without his eyesight), but they'd found a way to handle it all the same. For hours, both Master and Padawan would sit in a secluded area- a field outside the base's walls, an empty storage room in the base, anywhere where they had enough privacy to talk freely about the Jedi way. Kanan would answer any questions Ezra had (and the boy, admittedly, had more questions than expected, since they'd always been too busy with mission for the teen to ever ask), and sometimes the older male would share stories with Ezra of his days as a Padawan. Meditation became a large part of their training, helping Ezra keep his focus sharp and helping Kanan connect better with the Force so that it could better guide him. By the day, Ezra's strength in the Force strengthened as well, leaving Kanan wondering just when the boy would reach his limit in the Force.

In this time, the two Force-users became even closer than before. The events on Malachor and with the holocron had strengthened their bond greatly, and it was obvious they depended on one another. Ezra needed Kanan whenever his emotions began to overwhelm him and, in return, Kanan needed Ezra when he was unable to focus enough for the Force to guide him and needed someone to serve as his eyes. This had even led to Ezra forming the strange habit of unconsciously reaching out and taking one of Kanan's hands at times, guiding the man along, even when Kanan didn't require the help. Kanan didn't mind, though, and he'd let Ezra do it. Ezra made a good pair of eyes, after all.

They were much like a father and son, Sabine and Zeb often joked.

And, in the end, the training helped. Knowing more about the Jedi, the Force and even his own abilities and limits helped keep Ezra on the straight and narrow. After seeing Maul and how the dark side had twisted his mind, Ezra was devoted to keeping himself loyal to the Jedi way and the light side.

It had been a busy eight months, so why was Ezra so _bored_?

Another sigh left Ezra as he propped his head up on a hand, elbow on his knee. So, so bored…

And something seemed weird today, too. Something Ezra couldn't really describe...If he had to try and place the feeling, he would have to say it was akin to static racing up and down his spine: tingly and strange, but not painful. The fluctuations weren't dark, they were just...There.

"Ezra."

The teen gave a start, turning and peering down over the side of the wall. Kanan stood there, head turned up.

Kanan had changed a bit during the passing months as well, though not much. The man no longer pulled his hair back, his lost sight making it too troublesome to try and tie it back anymore. His hair had grown out a bit, now hanging loosely around the man's broad shoulders. He seemed a bit more relaxed, now that they were safely out of the line of fire for the time being, though he still was a sarcastic person (luckily the others could keep up, just as they always had). Linen bandage wraps covered his blinded eyes, a sight that had taken months for Ezra to get used to.

But by now Ezra was no longer uncomfortable about it. Smiling, the teen turned to fully face Kanan, swinging his over to dangle on the same side.

"Hey Kanan, what's up?"

Satisfied that he wasn't just talking to a wall, Kanan smiled slightly, shaking his head with a sigh as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You know you're not supposed to be up there, kid."

Ezra grinned impishly, swinging his legs slightly.

"I'm keeping a perimeter."

Ezra could all but see Kanan roll his eyes.

"You're not old enough to drink, let alone keep a perimeter. Now come on, get down from there."

Ezra groaned, head lolling back.

"But _Kanaaaaannn_ -"

"Ezra…" Kanan said in a warning tone. With a sigh, the teen jumped down.

"Fine. You're no fun, y'know that?"

Kanan sighed, shaking his head to himself.

"And _you_ don't follow the rules."

"Not true!" Ezra protested with a huff, gently shoving his mentor's shoulder in a playful manner. "Chopper and I don't pull pranks on people anymore!"

Kanan smirked as they slowly started back towards the base.

"Is that so? Then who was it that set up powder sacks in the air vents so that powder would blow out the grates and fill the training rooms and the _trainees_?"

Ezra winced, coughing awkwardly.

"U-uh…." At the knowing look Kanan sent him, the teen relented. "Okay, so Chopper and I don't play pranks _most_ of the time."

Kanan chuckled, lightly bumping his arm against Ezra's.

"Look, the point is, just don't go off without letting someone know where you're going again, alright? I've been looking for you for half an hour."

Ezra smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry. I'll tell you next time around, I-" Kanan suddenly stopped, and Ezra frowned, halting as well. "Kanan? What's wrong?"

The man's head was turned towards the sky, a small frown at his lips.

"Something's up."

Ezra moved to stand beside Kanan, searching the sky and horizon as well.

"So…So you feel it too?"

Kanan grunted in acknowledgement, nodding.

"Yeah. It isn't the dark side, but its…different."

"I remember feeling something like this once or twice, back when I was little." Ezra stated, looking at Kanan. "Back whenever a big storm would hit Lothal. But this is still a bit different."

Kanan slowly nodded, head still turned to the horizon as he held a hand out to Ezra.

"Let's get inside." He said as Ezra took the offered hand. "Just in case a storm does actually hit."

Ezra nodded, leading the man back towards the base that was a couple dozen feet away. He smiled when he saw the others of the crew (aside from Chopper) had come now and were approaching Kanan and Ezra.

"Hey guys." Ezra greeted as he gently pulled Kanan over to the others. Hera was smiling at the sight of the young boy and his mentor, while Zeb looked amused and Sabine was grinning.

"'Bout time we found you two!" Sabine laughed as they met up in the middle. In the past eight months, Sabine had changed her hair color again, this time to various hues of red, orange and yellow with purple tips. The fantastical coloring all but glowed in the midday sunlight, even as clouds began to blot out the sun.

"Been looking for us for awhile?" Ezra asked, not even flinching as Kanan's hand moved from his own to instead rest on his shoulder.

"Not too long, but longer than we thought it would take to find you both." Hera replied, shrugging. "Its time to eat, and you two aren't allowed to skip another meal because of Jedi training."

"We weren't training." Kanan replied dryly, earning a sheepish grin from Ezra. " _I_ was looking for Ezra. The kid was on the wall again."

Ezra winced as Hera sent him a look.

"Ezra, what have we told you about going up on the walls?"

The teen lifted his hands in surrender.

"I know, I know! Kanan already gave me the lecture, I don't need it twice."

"Maybe hearing it twice would get it to stick for once." Kanan retorted, knocking a knuckle against the side of Ezra's head. Frowning, Ezra swatted the hand away.

"Aren't we supposed to be heading inside now?" The teen snapped irritably. "It isn't like I-!"

Ezra and Kanan suddenly froze.

The others shared a confused, somewhat worried look. It was Hera who moved forward, gently touching Kanan's arm.

"Kanan? What-"

"We need to get into the base."

The sudden statement, so serious and firm, made Hera blink.

"What? What do you mean? Is something wrong?"

Sabine, seeing Ezra staring up at the sky, looked up as well. Her eyes widened.

"Blast it, there's an electrical storm coming!"

At this exclamation, the other two of the group looked up as well. Not too far off, angry-looking, black clouds had gathered thickly, hiding the sun as they approached. Streaks of lightning darted out from the thick sheet of clouds, licking the ground and leaving scorched grass in their wake. Electrical storms were not unheard of, but they were serious business, especially when they were this big.

"C'mon, everyone back inside, now!" Hera ordered, herding Sabine back towards the base. No one hesitated to comply, Zeb following Hera and Sabine while Ezra took Kanan's hand once more and pulled him along quickly (a necessary action, as running wasn't nearly so easy when one couldn't see).

The storm was approaching far too quickly, Ezra noted with concern. Something wasn't right here, something was off-

The last thing he remembered was a flash of horrible pain and spots filling his vision before all went black.


End file.
